Osaka: Gamba Osaka offered plenty of reminders of their AFC Champions League pedigree as the two-time J.League champions brushed aside Malaysia’s Johor Darul Ta’zim to reach the Group Stage of the 2017 continental club championship on Tuesday.
Yasuhito Endo continues to control the tempo of the team from deep in midfield – just as he did in 2008 when Gamba were crowned Asian champions – while Shu Kurata kept the 2015 AFC Cup winners on the back foot with his attacking flair and pressure in the final third.
There was even a Brazilian striker on hand to capitalize on the chances created. Where Lucas had been the man to apply the finishing touch back in Gamba’s glory days, against JDT it was Ademilson who was administering the punishment, the Brazilian heading home the first of his side’s three goals at Suita City Football Stadium.
While it is too early to say Gamba have the tools in 2017 to repeat their remarkable win nine years ago, Kenta Hasegawa’s side certainly look well enough equipped to challenge for a place in the knockout phase of the competition.
Victory over the Malaysians – a team that have shown huge improvement in recent seasons themselves, including their AFC Cup win the season before last – was comfortably acquired, with Gamba’s front three pressing hard against the visitors’ defence to great effect.
With the visitors given little time to settle, it was Kurata who was prompting Gamba’s best moves from open play, while Endo provided the ammunition both from deep and at set pieces.
It was the former Japan international – who holds the record for the most appearances for the national team at a remarkable 152 caps – who delivered the corner that enabled Genta Miura to score his side’s third in a performance that also saw Shun Nagasawa put his name on the scoresheet.
Despite the loss, JDT will at least be heartened by a performance that showed the gap between the two teams was far from cavernous, and as Benjamin Mora’s side go back into the AFC Cup they can be confident of making an impact in that competition once again.
Hasegawa’s team, meanwhile, will take on Jeju United, Jiangsu Suning and, most intriguingly, Adelaide United in the AFC Champions League 2017 Group Stage.
A rematch against the Australians they defeated 5-0 over two legs in 2008 will bring back plenty of positive memories for Gamba, and so too will the way in which they secured their place in the next phase of the competition.
And there can be little doubt the Japanese side will be moving into the latest edition of the continental club championship in a positive frame of mind.
Photo: Lagardère Sports
Source: the-afc.com